154 CHARGE AGAINST MR. LUMSDEN, &c. 



Overbury, and therein cleansing the land from blood. 

 For, my lords, if blood spilt pure doth cry to hea 

 ven in God s ears, much more blood defiled with 

 poison. 



This great work of his majesty s justice, the more 

 excellent it is, your lordships will soon conclude the 

 greater is the offence of any that have sought to af 

 front it or traduce it. And therefore, before 1 des 

 cend unto the charge of these offenders, I will set 

 before your lordships the weight of that which they 

 have sought to impeach; speaking somewhat of the 

 general crime of impoisonment, and then of the par 

 ticular circumstances of this fact upon Overbury ; 

 and thirdly and chiefly, of the king s great and wor 

 thy care and carriage in this business. 



The offence of impoisonment is most truly figured 

 in that device or description, which was made of the 

 nature of one of the Roman tyrants, that he was 

 &quot; lutum sanguine maceratum,&quot; mire mingled or ce 

 mented with blood : for as it is one of the highest 

 offences in guiltiness, so it is the basest of all others 

 in the mind of the offenders. Treasons &quot; magnum 

 &quot; aliquid spectant :&quot; they aim at great things ; but 

 this is vile and base. I tell your lordships what I have 

 noted, that in all God s book, both of the Old and 

 New Testament, I find examples of all other offences 

 and offenders in the world, but not any one of an 

 impoisonment or an impoisoner. I find mention of 

 fear of casual impoisonment : when the wild vine 

 was shred into the pot, they came complaining in a 

 fearful manner ; Master, &quot; mors in olla.&quot; And I 



